Field Hand of the Month for September 2008: Kris Johnson
By Al Giordano
Better late than never (I was on the road at the turn of the month, but didn't want to let this one slip through the cracks)...
Kris Johnson of South Carolina is Field Hand of the Month for September 2008.
Let me please tell you the story, because many of you were part of it, and therefore share in this honor.
On September 20, we published this story: The AP's Ron Fournier: Racial Arsonist and Unethical Journalist.
Associated Press Washington Bureau Chief Fournier, whose unethical conflicts of interest (a Congressional investigation's discovery of an email he sent to GOP consultant Karl Rove cheering him to "keep up the fight" and the disclosure that Fournier had negotiated with the McCain campaign for a possible "senior advisor" position) had surfaced over the summer, should have been removed immediately from covering the presidential campaign, but the two national political conventions eclipsed the story just as it was gaining traction.
Emboldened once it became clear that his superiors at AP would defend even violations of the wire agency's own ethics code, Fournier quickly went overboard in his partisan coverage, attempting to use his position in the media to throw a racially-charged Molotov cocktail into the race for the White House.
We determined, from our little corner of the Internet, to do something about it.
Later that very Sunday, we launched the "investigation stage" of our soon to be launched letter writing campaign to governing board members of the AP Managing Editors Association (APME) about Fournier's conflicts of interest and racial arson.
As Field Hands set to work researching and posting the contact info for each of those board members, Kris Johnson of South Carolina posted this comment:
I'm forming a word document with all of the info. you guys have found in a more organized fashion. Does anyone know of a web site where I can post it so everyone has access? I know google documents has something like this? I can also make it mac accessible with my other computer when I am done transfering all this info.
Then, a half hour later, she added:
Here's our Document, Guys!
Let me know if everyone has access.
It's supposed to be public.
If I messed something up, e-mail me...
I'm off to bed for tonight, so I will be updating in the morning.
If anyone wants a hard copy, I can e-mail it to them as well.
By morning other Field Hands had pretty much done all the research necessary and the campaign was quickly off and running.
She uploaded the info onto this spreadsheet, gave you access to it, and you set to work writing the APME governing board members, fifteen of whom were new and had just been elected to the board ten days prior.
On September 28, I posted this update: Fournier Watch: Your Letters to the APME are Working.
Fournier hasn't had a byline about the presidential campaign (or anything else) since September 28.
For him, it must be a very sobering experience. And it's a powerful lesson to those like him that work in journalism but would violate ethics codes while also attempting to ignite race hatred in America for partisan political motives.
Fournier's disappearance from AP's presidential campaign coverage in recent weeks is akin to a starting player being pulled off the roster in only the second game of the World Series, and he's already missed games three, four, five and six.
For political reporters, covering a presidential campaign is the Holy Grail, the pinnacle of their careers, the thing they look forward to for the three years as they schlep bleary eyed through more boring political times, pretending to make news even when there is none, meeting deadlines only for the sake of filling up column inches. They endure even that knowing that on the fourth year comes the prize: to cover a presidential campaign, something that everybody in America and across the world is actually interested in and going to read.
But Fournier wasn't assigned to cover any of the three presidential debates, not even the vice presidential one.
He missed the schmoozing in the "spin room" that political journalists live for every four years.
The parade of rightwing biased "analysis" pieces that Fournier used to assign so recklessly to unknown and unqualified but ideologically axe-grinding colleagues have dried up.
The invitations to the national network cable news shows and panels stopped arriving.
It's the sad story of a disgraced wrong-doer, having been caught in the act, sitting and waiting by a telephone that does not ring and a Blackberry that ceases to beep.
And in general, the Associated Press' coverage of the presidential campaign has become more even handed.
It's a brief and shining moment for AP. It probably won't last, but the important thing is that it happened during the most important three weeks of the four-year presidential campaign cycle.
Our campaign - while we were ready to do so much more - didn't even have to go into higher gear. In the current political parlance, we used a scalpel, not a meat cleaver, on the most sensitive point of the AP behemoth: that it has an advisory board of working journalists who have their own reputations to protect, some of whom turned out, in fact, to care, as you do, about ethics and honesty in journalism.
Your letters drew some interesting responses: from agreement to disagreement, from defensiveness to gratitude that you, too, had noticed the problem with Fournier.
He'll no doubt be back (he's going to appear on AP's live Election Night Internet video coverage, and they'll probably let him write an article or two in order to "prove" that letter writing campaigns don't work, that's a constant drumbeat from the oversensitive media in general, but you now know better; the point is they have to be done right). Fournier just became too hot to handle for AP in this final stretch of the campaign. A little bit of sunlight, applied strategically through our magnifying glass, was all that was needed to smoke him out.
And that victory - which helped shape the national media narrative of the campaign - was accomplished by many of you, using the tool that Kris Johnson took the initiative to create.
She didn't wait around for orders from headquarters or to be told what to do. She saw a need, took the initiative and filled it. And that's why I'm so very proud to declare her Field Hand of the Month for September 2008.
Note: If you're not already a Field Hand - part of the online network created by readers of this blog, now with 563 members - sign up here. Among its manifold benefits, it now includes invitations to the best upcoming parties of the final laps of this year's presidential campaign. And the work of Field Hands will become even more important after November 4.
Update: This morning in St. Louis, Missouri:
(A picture that tells 100,000 stories.)
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Comments
I have noticed
Submitted October 18, 2008 - 1:02 pm by TexiCali (not verified)A lack of McMouthpiece on the AP Yahoo blurbs and have wondered if he had his ass Field-Handed to him.
I wonder how it feels to be whooped by a bunch of amateur community organizers....heh!
Congratulations Kris!
Submitted October 18, 2008 - 1:07 pm by Catherine CainIt is so well deserved and such a great story to go with it.
Thank you Al! And Thanks Field Hands!
Submitted October 18, 2008 - 1:09 pm by Kris JohnsonI'm truly honored by your kind remarks, and love being a part of something bigger than myself like the Obama campaign and this web site. In truth, however, this honor belongs to all of us here who contributed to the fact-finding mission and who wrote letters to the APME. The speed at which the task was accomplished is a credit to all who participated and answered Al's call to action. There is no way I could have compiled such a comprehensive spreadsheet all on my own, so to all Field Hands - you all share in this honor for Field Hand of the Month with me. Dinner and drinks on me if any of you are ever in South Carolina.
And Go Spartans!
Congratulations to Kris!
Submitted October 18, 2008 - 1:13 pm by Nalani McClendonI like that phrase "ass Field-Handed" and Fournier got it in spades.
Congratulations & thanks to Kris
Submitted October 18, 2008 - 1:28 pm by Suzy ShureCongratulations and thanks to Kris. You deserve this award, and the thanks of many, many people who are readers of local newspapers across the country. Your work was catalytic. The piece put in place that made the all the following action by Field hands possible, and so much more effective than it could ever have been without your work!
Thank you.
Thanks Kris!
Submitted October 18, 2008 - 1:31 pm by Anne CrumptonAnd thanks Al for assigning us a project to work on! Together we can do it.
PS - It is nice to see FL turning blue.
Congratulations Kris
Submitted October 18, 2008 - 1:53 pm by Christi DemuthGlad I reminded Al to do this. Great Job and great story to go along with it.
Re: Florida-It's not going to be easy. I posted a comment with a link to a Florida diary on the last thread.
Christi
Submitted October 18, 2008 - 2:30 pm by Tara Van NimanThat story of the McCain canvassers is pretty shocking...I guess it shouldn't be but is that really all they are armed with?? Total and complete lies and slime? I mean, they didn't want to discuss real issues? I was surprised at how calm the diarist sounded. I would totally be polite to a canvasser at my door who wanted to legitimately discuss issues but I would rail on this crap. "He's a muslim, no he's not, yes he is" is completely juvenille and a waste of everyone's time.
If you missed the pic
Submitted October 18, 2008 - 2:46 pm by Anne Crumptonscroll up and look at it. I was just going to post it. Thanks Al!
Tara
Submitted October 18, 2008 - 2:58 pm by Christi DemuthThe thing that bothers me is the low-info voter being intimidated by these tactics. I have done a lot of canvass training and we are always told to stay positive about our side and say nothing that is not issue based about the opposition. We speak about the issues and tell them the difference between the candidates stances, we do NOT slime the other side.
St. Louis rally
Submitted October 18, 2008 - 4:44 pm by Anonymous (not verified)I went to the rally in St. Louis today... and now I have no doubt that Barack Obama is going to win Missouri and the presidency.
Congrats Kris!
Submitted October 18, 2008 - 4:47 pm by Jason YoungAnd thank you for being an example to the rest us of how to take initiative.
Another Beautiful Endorsement
Submitted October 18, 2008 - 5:13 pm by Catherine CainIt's too bad it doesn't translate into 51% votes in Utah. I think you will enjoy reading the Salt Lake Tribune's editorial on Obama and the failings of John McCain. They are more harsh on McCain than I've seen most Democrats. I'm sure most of that has to do with McCain's questionable campaign tactics in Florida and in defeating Romney.
An excerpt:
"... Yet, Obama mounted an extraordinary grass-roots campaign, raised gobs of cash, and showed great fortitude and equanimity in the face of the Clinton juggernaut. He endured, and once the nomination was his, he set about uniting his divided party with an impressive display of magnanimity and diplomacy.
John McCain, meanwhile, crushed Mitt Romney to gain his party's nomination, but then blundered badly by not bringing the business-savvy Romney onto the ticket. Romney would have shored up McCain's poor grasp of economic policy.
Then, out of nowhere, and without proper vetting, the impetuous McCain picked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. She quickly proved grievously underequipped to step into the presidency should McCain, at 72 and with a history of health problems, die in office. More than any single factor, McCain's bad judgment in choosing the inarticulate, insular and ethically challenged Palin disqualifies him for the presidency."
It's gratifying to know that a paper which endorsed Bush the last two elections is open minded enough to not only recognize the failures of the Republican Party, but also clearly understands how Obama came to be where he is today. Even in Utah, where there is zero chance of a Democrat winning there, they are following this election as closely as anywhere else in America.
http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_10750163
Whoopee!
Submitted October 18, 2008 - 5:21 pm by Faith (not verified)It's nice to know a few people can have a positive impact. Can we put a muzzle on Hannity, O'Reilly and Dobbs?! Ha. And Stephen Moore is on the Editorial board at the Wall Street Journal and he might be trying to pick up the Fournier mantle by lying about ACORN.
Yay Kris!
Submitted October 18, 2008 - 6:00 pm by Jess (not verified)Great work Kris and congratulations and thank you!
Off topic I'm delighted to be in a position to facilitate a little 'in your face' to McCain supporters locally. An Obama supporter had their sign stolen from their front yard last night. They live right next to the post office and on a busy road so when the Obama campaign gave us access to one enormous (8' long 4' high) sign we thought of them immediately. Provided we have no town zoning laws forbidding it the enormous sign will go up to replace the small one that was swiped.
NC - Early voting continues at breakneck pace
Submitted October 18, 2008 - 7:03 pm by Melissa (not verified)http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=307829
Congratulations, Kris +
Submitted October 18, 2008 - 8:42 pm by Lisa BallardThanks for the great work, Kris! Much appreciated.
I keep coming back to The Field tonite just to look at the photo of St. Louis.
Very Important Question for Field Hands
Submitted October 18, 2008 - 8:59 pm by Blue_SD (not verified)Hello again, everybody - I have a quick activism related question, and I was wondering if some of you may be able to answer it. I'm back in SD this week for a break from school, and there are several reactionary measures on the ballot this year (complete abortion ban with no exceptions, an end to term limits in our corrupt and heavily GOP legislature, etc.) that don't look good. Part of the problem here is that several churches are campaigning hard on these hate measures and providing free advertising in the form of sermons and huge yard signs for the GOP.
I want to get tough on these bastards and turn them into the IRS, because they're violating federal law. If they want to campaign, they can pay taxes like the rest of us. So, Field Hands, how do I go about doing this? I have pictures of the signs and audio of some sermons as evidence that these churches are breaking the rules, and if any of their hotshot right-wing lawyers try to target/smear me, they're going to be in for a world of hurt.
Does anybody know what I can do to get the IRS to investigate?
Huge crowds at Obama rallies: 100,000 in St. Louis, 75,000 in KC
Submitted October 18, 2008 - 9:24 pm by Melissa (not verified)http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/AP/story/731877.html
Obama visits with campaign volunteers in KC
Submitted October 18, 2008 - 9:26 pm by Melissa (not verified)http://www.kansascity.com/703/story/847062.html
@ Blue SD
Submitted October 18, 2008 - 9:51 pm by Chris LandryI have a friend who used to work for the IRS. I'll ask him how you go about dropping a dime on these churches. Contact me t celandry45@comcast.net so I can get you the answer.
100,000 smiles
Submitted October 18, 2008 - 10:02 pm by nancie (not verified)Congratulations and thanks, Kris.
And many, many thanks for that picture of St. Louis. I grew up there and most of my family lives there still. Wish I could have been there today!
Colin Powell
Submitted October 18, 2008 - 11:12 pm by Christi DemuthI was thinking tomorrow he would endorse Obama, then I read this. Now this could be CL-ing on the writers part, I don't know. It is not a long wait til morning but since I am home on Saturday night.... Is anyone around tonight with an opinion as to what Powell will do tomorrow? If so, is his endorsement for either candidate worth anything?
Powell
Submitted October 19, 2008 - 2:07 am by Jason YoungThe only thing Colin Powell's endorsement is worth is one vote and a news cycle. It doesn't change the fundamentals of what this race is about (economy) - I'm not sure what realistically could at this point. They might as well have Bill Cosby endorse McCain for as much of an authority as either of them are on the economy.
And I'm not really sure why anyone would be too excited to see Powell endorse Obama either. Sure he's had a long career, but he's perhaps most famous for holding up that vial, and most recently made news for getting behind Ted Stevens.
Congrats!!
Submitted October 19, 2008 - 6:32 am by Pamela Hilliard Owensto Kris for the extreme honor of Fieldhand of the Month! Like you, I was both excited and amazed at what just one person "starting the ball rolling" could accomplish!
It is also exciting for all of us to "re-learn", thanks to our leaders Barack and Al, that this country is about "We the People"!
waterprise2 AKA Pam
Liberal with a Capital L!
Colin Powell...
Submitted October 19, 2008 - 6:39 am by Pamela Hilliard OwensI, too, am conflicted about this MTP interview this morning...(plus it's tape-delayed on TV here in Detroit)...
Will he or won't he? Is it good or bad for the O-man?
But whichever or whatever, we know what OUR jobs are, right Fieldhands?
Everything is for naught unless the numbers come in by Nov 4th.
Nothing less than 52% popular vote and 300 EV at a minimum...
Two words: "New Hampshire..."
My younger daughter (who is now 35 yo) was two weeks "late" being born, and even then I was in labor with her for 33 hours! This waiting for Nov 4th p.m. is worse! LOL...
waterprise2 AKA Pam
Liberal with a Capital L!
150 million dollars.
Submitted October 19, 2008 - 7:14 am by Mark H. (not verified)150 million dollars in September. That's nearly twice as much as John "Obama is a Socialist" Sideny McCain III. got from the government for three months.
https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/septembernumbers1?source=...
Please follow Plouffe's advice: Work, donate and do all you can to get Barack Obama elected.
Our man nets 150 mil in September.
Submitted October 19, 2008 - 7:56 am by Agoram Muthukumaranhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/americas/7678674.stm
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/10/19/55944/514/495/635148
woot, woot, woot.
605 mil in all. amazing stuff, I tell ya'.
amk
OT - Hamilton wins Chinese GP. Closes in on F1 Championship.
Submitted October 19, 2008 - 8:08 am by Agoram Muthukumaranhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/low/motorsport/formula_one/7678482.stm
Hamilton would be the first non-white and the youngest driver to win the F1 championship.
But, dirty, underhanded tactics there too. Pretty pathetic.
The McLaren driver dominated the race at Shanghai while his title rival Felipe Massa was handed second place by Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.
The Brazilian had run third for most of the event, unable to stay on terms with Hamilton or Raikkonen ahead of him.
amk
Colin Powell
Submitted October 19, 2008 - 9:07 am by Christi DemuthHe endorsed Obama on MTP. Thoughts?
Wow, thanks Christi. All around great news today.
Submitted October 19, 2008 - 9:11 am by Agoram MuthukumaranI will take powell from electoral point of veiw, not political.
Will swing the "swing voters" (rolls eyes) a bit.
amk
HOPEfully
Submitted October 19, 2008 - 9:51 am by D.Quayle (not verified)Hopefully this endorsement will suck up all the air for a few days and prevent any GOP stories from taking hold. The days are ticking away. If anyone questions his motives, remember to say 'how dare you, this man was a 4 star general and advisor to Reagan'.
Apparently he has voted for Dems and Repubs in the past, I didn't know that.
Powell
Submitted October 19, 2008 - 10:25 am by Lisa BallardI think the Powell endorsement is interesting.
Had he endorsed McCain, it could have been spun that, after all, he IS a Republican who served Prez Bush and is committed to his party and Prez.
While I don't think it's a huge story, I do think that it is significant that he decided to publicly cross party lines to support Obama and give further voice to his message.
I haven't had a chance to watch the whole thing yet
Submitted October 19, 2008 - 1:09 pm by Laura M. Poyneerbut it sounds like Powell's endorsement was very strong. I am particularly impressed that he said "If Obama was a Muslim, so what?" That is something that needs to be said a lot more.
I hope that this endorsement may be helpful to independents and Republicans who may have needed one more push to vote for Obama.
Al
Submitted October 20, 2008 - 9:41 pm by Arthur Shaw (not verified)Al's political perception and analysis of his perceptions are amazing.
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